Τι (ποιος) είναι nitrous oxide - ορισμός
![Sir [[Humphry Davy]]'s ''Researches chemical and philosophical: chiefly concerning nitrous oxide'' (1800), pages 556 and 557 (right), outlining potential anaesthetic properties of nitrous oxide in relieving pain during surgery](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Anaesthesia exhibition, 1946 Wellcome M0009908.jpg?width=200 "Sir [[Humphry Davy]]'s ''Researches chemical and philosophical: chiefly concerning nitrous oxide'' (1800), pages 556 and 557 (right), outlining potential anaesthetic properties of nitrous oxide in relieving pain during surgery")
![Street sign indicating ban of nitrous oxide use near the Poelestraat in [[Groningen]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Ban of Nitrous oxide use.jpg?width=200 "Street sign indicating ban of nitrous oxide use near the Poelestraat in [[Groningen]]")
![[[Aquatint]] depiction of a laughing gas party in the nineteenth century, by [[Thomas Rowlandson]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Doctor and Mrs Syntax, with a party of friends, experimentin Wellcome L0022227.jpg?width=200 "[[Aquatint]] depiction of a laughing gas party in the nineteenth century, by [[Thomas Rowlandson]]")
![O}} tanks used in [[dentistry]]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/N2O Medical Tanks.jpg?width=200 "O}} tanks used in [[dentistry]]")
![parts-per-billion]].](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/N2O mm.png?width=200 "parts-per-billion]].")
![O}} [[whipped-cream charger]]s](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/N2O whippets.jpg?width=200 "O}} [[whipped-cream charger]]s")
![Whippit]] remnants (the small steel canisters) of recreational drug use, the Netherlands, 2017](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Nitrous oxide whippits used recreationally as a drug by Dutch youngsters near a school, Utrecht, 2017 - 1.jpg?width=200 "Whippit]] remnants (the small steel canisters) of recreational drug use, the Netherlands, 2017")
Βικιπαίδεια
Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula N
2O. At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has a slightly sweet scent and taste. At elevated temperatures, nitrous oxide is a powerful oxidiser similar to molecular oxygen.
Nitrous oxide has significant medical uses, especially in surgery and dentistry, for its anaesthetic and pain-reducing effects. Its colloquial name, "laughing gas", coined by Humphry Davy, is due to the euphoric effects upon inhaling it, a property that has led to its recreational use as a dissociative anaesthetic. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It is also used as an oxidiser in rocket propellants, and in motor racing to increase the power output of engines.
Nitrous oxide's atmospheric concentration reached 333 parts per billion (ppb) in 2020, increasing at a rate of about 1 ppb annually. It is a major scavenger of stratospheric ozone, with an impact comparable to that of CFCs. Global accounting of N
2O sources and sinks over the decade ending 2016 indicates that about 40% of the average 17 TgN/yr (teragrams, or million metric tons, of nitrogen per year) of emissions originated from human activity, and shows that emissions growth chiefly came from expanding agriculture and industry sources within emerging economies. Being the third most important long-lived greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide also substantially contributes to global warming.
Nitrous oxide is used as a propellant, and has a variety of applications from rocketry to making whipped cream. It is used as a recreational drug for its potential to induce a brief "high"; most recreational users are unaware of its neurotoxicity and potential to cause neurological damage.
